First is the gorgeous Eva Gabor, a Hungarian, A-list, live action movie actress of her time. Her accent and soft tone of voice was the purrfect fit for mama kitty, Duchess, in "The Aristocats" (1970). Eva's voice can also be heard as Miss Bianca in the 1977 film "The Rescuers" and the 1990 sequel "The Rescuers Down Under." Outside of working with Disney she is probably most well known for her part as Lisa Douglas in "Green Acres."
Duchess' counterpart in "The Aristocats," Thomas O'Malley was played by another common Disney voice actor, Phil Harris. Harris also provided the voice of Baloo in "The Jungle Book" (1967) and Little John in "Robin Hood" (1973). Other than Disney his work included radio, television, and also leading a band in the 1940s. Some may remember him from his comedy routines on the Jack Benny show.
The chilling voice of Eleanor Audley has been cast as several Disney Villians such as the Evil Stepmother from "Cinderella" (1950) and Malifecent in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959). She has also appeared on many television shows including: 'I Love Lucy,' 'Twilight Zone,' 'Shirley Temple's Storybook,' and 'The Dick Van Dyke Show.'
Another actor that is known for playing Disney characters of a smaller stature is Cliff Edwards. Most popularly he is the voice of Jiminy Cricket, the conscious of Pinocchio in his title film released in 1940. Not long after Cliff also played the voice of the fast talking Jim Crow in "Dumbo" (1941). He was also known for his singing talents and playing the ukelele.
Verna Felton was an actress experience on stage, on screen, and on the radio. She provided the sweet and sentimental voice of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother and the fairy Flora in "Sleeping Beauty." Other Disney films her voice was featured in include "Lady and the Tramp" (1955) as Aunt Sarah and in "Jungle Book" (1967) as an elephant. This is not her only elephant role though, she also played the voice of Mrs. Jumbo in Dumbo (1941). The only time she voiced a Disney villain was in "Alice in Wonderland" (1951) as the explosive Queen of Hearts.
Now for a man whose voice has been used in more Disney films than anyone listed above, as well as throughout the Disney Parks, and that is the voice of Thurl Ravenscroft. Most may know him as the voice of Tony the Tiger, mascot of Frosted Flakes (You know... "They'rrrre Grrreat!) but his work went far beyond commercials. In the Disney short 'Paul Bunyan' (1958) he provided the voice of the title character. In 1951 he was one of the card painters in "Alice in Wonderland." Ten years later in 1961 he played the voice of Captain in "101 Dalmations." He was also Black Bart in "The Sword in the Stone" (1963), a Hog in "Mary Poppins" (1964), Billy Bass the Russian cat in "The Aristocats" (1970), and Kirby the vacuum cleaner in all of The Brave Little Toaster movies. Thurl provided additional voices and sang in several other Disney films such as: "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Sleeping Beauty," and "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." He also did a lot of voices in the animated Dr. Suess movies and sings the well-known Grinch's theme song.
As for his work in the theme parks you have probably heard his voice a lot more than you realize like as the former narrator on the Disneyland Railroad, that's right as you made your trip around Walt's Magic Kingdom it was Ravenscroft who led your way. He also makes an appearance in the Haunted Mansion's graveyard finale scene as the lead bust (that has fallen over) from the quartet. As you make your way to Adventureland you can hear Thurl's voice again as Fritz the German bird in The Enchanted Tiki Room and as the Tiki God, Tangaroa, outside the showroom in the entry wait area. Tangaroa describes himself as the Father of all gods and goddesses and is in the form of a tree whose flowered branches extend down to reveal mini tikis, very cool. His voice also brought to life Buff, whose head hung on the wall of the Country Bear Jamboree (who you can still see quietly hanging in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh). Thurl's vocal talents also provided the singing tones of several pirates in The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
That's all for today, thanks for reading and leave a comment if I have left any questions unanswered or if you know more characters these voices have played!
